Concord woman arrested on suspicion of arson for 4-acre brush fire near Martinez

MARTINEZ -- A Concord woman was arrested Sunday evening on suspicion of arson after police say she used a lighter to set fire to a hillside that in turn sparked a four-acre burn.

Julie Tenpenny, 48, was also arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance following the late-afternoon incident, said Martinez Police Lt. Aaron Roth.

Fire crews were dispatched at 5:09 p.m. to an area near Lindsey Drive and Alhambra Avenue for a report of a blaze that broke out and was threatening nearby structures, a Contra Costa County Fire Protection District spokeswoman said.

The blaze, Roth said, spread rapidly in the direction of homes located east of Alhambra Avenue between Alhambra Hills Drive and Vine Hill Way and forced police to shut down neighboring roads.

Fire crews were able to contain the fire before any homes were damaged.

Capt. Robert Marshall said it took about an hour-and-a-half to get the fire under control.

"It was windy and it was a very steep slope, and those two things are a bad combo," Marshall said.

No evacuations were necessary, no one was injured in the fire, and the roadways were reopened to traffic about 7:50 p.m., Roth said.

As authorities investigated the cause of the blaze, police located Tenpenny at the scene and said a witness placed her at the base of the fire when it began on Alhambra Avenue, Roth said. During questioning, she became uncooperative and began resisting officers as they tried to investigate, he said.

Advertisement

As officers began to arrest her she became combative, and during the struggle, a male officer sustained a leg injury, Roth said. The officer was taken to a local hospital by ambulance to be treated for the non life-threatening injury.

Tenpenny was also transported to a local hospital for "precautions," police said.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call police at 925-372-3440.